Yale Lockdown Caused By Hoax, Police Say

Updated at 4:10 pm, November 25th, 2013

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iStock/Thinkstoc(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) — A day-long lockdown of the Yale University campus was lifted Monday afternoon after authorities determined that a call warning of a gunman intent on shooting people was likely a hoax.

Yale’s New Haven, Conn., campus was put on lockdown after an anonymous male called 911 Monday morning to say his roommate was on his way to the campus with the intention of shooting people, according to officials.

New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman said there was “malicious intent” behind the call. However, after a search of the campus did not reveal any threats, he said authorities are “leaning toward this being a hoax.”

Esserman said once police identify the caller, that person “will face every charge possibly imaginable.”

The anonymous call was placed from a phone booth and the university sent out an alert at 10:17 a.m. ET.

At a news conference early Monday, New Haven Police Officer David Hartman said authorities interviewed several witnesses who said they saw someone with a “long gun.”

After speaking with some of the witnesses, Hartman said, “Some of those witnesses in all probability saw police officers with long guns instead of a suspect.”